The Portland Trail Blazers are back in action Tuesday night against the Oklahoma City Thunder and yet another MVP candidate in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
The Thunder have been hit hard by injuries, but arrive in Portland with an 8-2 record and a four-game winning streak. Gilgeous-Alexander, the two-time reigning MVP, is third in the NBA in scoring at 29.9 points per game and will test a Blazers team coming off back-to-back losses to Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers and Victor Wembanyama and the San
Antonio Spurs.
Can the Blazers get back to their winning ways? Let’s take a closer look at tonight’s matchup.
What you need to Know:
Portland Trail Blazers (6-3) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (8-2) – Tuesday, November 10th – 8:00pm Pacific
How to watch: NBC and Peacock
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Shaedon Sharpe, Ja Morant, Vít Krejci, John Tonje (Out).
Thunder Injuries: Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Cason Wallace, Thomas Sorber, Nikola Topic, Jaylin Williams (Out).
What to Watch For:
Turnovers: The turnovers that haunted the Blazers last season are becoming an issue again. Against the Lakers last Friday, the Blazers committed a season-high 24 turnovers and they are averaging 19 giveaways over the past five games—more than their league-worst 17.3 per game last season. Taking care of the ball will be especially important against the Thunder.
Last season, Chet Holmgren finished as the runner-up in Defensive Player of the Year voting while Cason Wallace came in seventh. Jalen Williams earned a spot on the All-Defense second team two seasons ago. Luguentz Dort finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2024-2025, but got shipped to Atlanta in the offseason. And yet, even with all of those stellar defenders out of the lineup, the Thunder still own the second best defensive rating in the league.
The Blazers can’t afford to give away possessions, especially because the Thunder do a good job of taking care of the ball on the other end.
SGA On the Bench: Gilgeous-Alexander has carried the Thunder since the injuries to Williams, Wallace and Holmgren. His driving, mid-range pull-ups and ability to get to the free throw line make him nearly impossible to stop. But over the past five games, he has shown more willingness to shoot from deep. His three-point attempts are at a career-high 6.9 per game and he has made 51.4% (18-of-35) of them over the past five games. During that span, he is averaging 33.8 points per game.
With Gilgeous-Alexander on the court, the Thunder score 118.5 points per 100 possessions. When he sits, that number drops to just 99.7 points per 100 possessions, which would be the lowest-ranked offense in the NBA. To get a win Tuesday night, the Blazers will need to take advantage when Gilgeous-Alexander rests.
Offensive Rebounds: The Blazers grabbed just eight offensive rebounds in each of the past two contests. They have now had eight or fewer offensive rebounds in three of their nine games, including two of their three losses. Look for them to re-commit to crashing the glass.
What Others are Saying:
The Thunder climbed up the latest NBA.com power rankings, landing in the number two spot after back-to-back blowout wins over the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards. Writer John Schumann shared some interesting stats about their success:
The Thunder have seen the league’s biggest drop, by a wide margin, in 3-point rate. They’ve taken just 35.5% of their shots from beyond the arc, the league’s second-lowest rate, down from 42.6% (13th highest) last season. But they’ve outscored their opponents in the paint in each of their last nine games. Ajay Mitchell’s 15.6 points in the paint per 36 minutes trail only the marks of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama among 287 players who’ve played at least 100 minutes total.
